1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for tracking a position of a peripheral vehicle, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for providing a view-converted image based on a position of a peripheral vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When driving a vehicle, a driver typically ascertains the position of adjacent/peripheral vehicles by using the rearview mirror and the left and right side mirrors. Unfortunately, the use of such mirrors, in particular the side mirrors, has a significant disadvantage in that the positioning of the mirrors creates a “blind spot” that is not visible by the driver. If a peripheral vehicle is located in the driver's blind spot, that vehicle may evade detection by the driver if the driver relies solely on the left, right, and rearview mirrors.
A conventional solution to this problem has been to mount a camera on the outer portion of the vehicle in a position that enables the camera to image the driver's blind spot. Unfortunately, such conventional art solutions suffer from the disadvantage that the camera is mounted on the outer portion of the vehicle at a fixed angle. Additionally, such conventional art solutions typically implement a wide-angle lens on the camera in order to secure a wider field of vision. Unfortunately, the use of such wide-angle lenses provides an image that is distorted and difficult to interpret. In particular, the use of such wide-angle lenses minimizes the field of view in the resulting image that actually covers the driver's blind spot. As a result, even in the case of such a conventional art solution, a vehicle located in the driver's blind spot may still evade detection, which may result in an accident. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for technology that enables the driver to identify and track vehicles that are located adjacent to the driver's vehicle, and especially vehicles located in the driver's blind spot.